Witcher Wiki:Editing Guidelines
The following are some editing guidelines that the Witcher Wiki follows. If you read nothing else here keep in mind these three key tenets of editing. # BE BOLD! in updating pages. Go ahead, it's a wiki! Encourage others, including those who disagree with you, likewise to BE BOLD! # Be civil to other users at all times. # Speak up. If the rules discourage you from improving or maintaining the wiki's quality, ask about them. We might agree and change them to fit better! If you need any additional clarification, please contact one of the wiki's admins or post on the forums. Writing guidelines When to edit The wiki encourages editors to make an edit whenever they see an article that needs improving. Whether it be something as minor as a spelling mistake, or something larger like gaps in the facts provided, don't be afraid to jump in and improve the site. However, the wiki expects editors to be more circumspect when it comes to editing templates. The design and layout of the wiki's templates have been carefully considered; as such please consult an admin if you wish to propose a major change. When Polish and English translations conflict Translators aren't perfect, and from time to time we come across names in the books that were mistranslated to the English books. When this happens, the books are considered canon over all other material (like anything from the games) even if they're incorrect grammatically. If you see this, simply add a note to the page about the error to explain the incorrect name. * Also, for continuity purposes, please use the canon name in a character's biography section and only use the non-canon where non-canon entries are present (for example Mousesack is only known as Ermion in the games so his biography always uses "Mousesack" but his game journal entry and name on quest pages would be Ermion). What tone to use While the wiki does not expect editors to use an academic tone, there is still an expectation that articles maintain some level of formality. This means that while contractions such as "it's" are acceptable, informal language such as "ur" in place of "your" is not. Further to this, please avoid writing in first person. What spelling to use As the Witcher wiki has editors from across the world, British and American spelling and grammar styles are both accepted. Editors are strongly discouraged from changing another editor's spelling or grammar purely because it is different to the style they are accustomed to. However, users are expected to follow the spelling used in-game. For example, Juggernaut Armor would always be spelt as such. When to use past or present tense In the stories, everything is written as past tense as the current present is around the 1520s. Therefore, when writing and edits articles, put everything in the past tense unless it's in the current present (1520s). For example, "Emhyr is the emperor of Nilfgaard" would be "Emhyr was the emperor of Nilfgaard." The one exception to this rule are items from the game, where one can directly reference the games instead and what the item was used for. When to use the edit summary Whenever there are significant changes to an article, please leave an explanation in the edit summary. If the change is minor (things like fixing spelling or adding links) there is less of a need to explain, though editors are welcome to. When using the "undo" function to completely undo the previous edit, it is advisable to leave a detailed summary as to why the edit is being undone, with a link the associated guideline if applicable (i.e. "too many images on page per..."). When to sign and when not to sign Always sign comments in the forums and on talk pages with four tildes (~). Conversely, never sign mainspace articles. When to use a spoiler tag The Witcher wiki tries to go by the "safer than sorry" approach and uses the spoiler banner at the top of pages when plot information is revealed, big or small. However, we expect our readers to understand that a walkthrough or biography section will indeed contain information that could spoil things in the games and/or books. What to call the protagonist See the Manual of Style Page Names Sometimes a particular person, location, item, etc. may not have a clear name, or share the same name as another page that already exists. When this happens, try to do the following: * If the character's last name is the only thing known and others share it, try to name the page by their title (such as Count X or Prince Y) * If no other page shares the name, you may name it simply by the name known * If it's a first name shared among many other characters and no last name is known, try to add a one word descriptor to the title like "Olaf (bear)" or "Olaf (guardsman)". * If it's a page name shared across games for quests, like Finders Keepers, add the shortened game title after it like "(The Witcher 2)" or "(The Witcher)". You may also do this with some quest items, though weapons and armor are ok sharing one page. * If it doesn't have an official name but is important enough to have a page, try to keep the name short and to the point like Longlocks' tower. What pages should not include Speculation Speculation should be avoided. If there is a strong reason to add something related to upcoming releases, or that is not made explicit in the canonical works it must be accompanied by a reliable source. This is to make it clear that you are not adding speculation. Personal comments If you have a question about a page, or comment about a particular edit, do not write it in the article. Instead use the forums, or the relevant talk page. Mods Linking to fan-created mods are not allowed on the wiki, as their inclusion depends on the editor and we're not able to verify it won't implode someone's computer. You are allowed to suggest sites, like for a player to check Nexus, but do not link out to them please. You can, however, list known steps if you know of any. You can also visit the official forums for the game for any help on this as well. Self Promotion This isn't the place to self-promote your Twitch account or YouTube channel. This wiki is meant to give concise, practical information on everything related to The Witcher series and while submitted videos and images are nice, rarely do we need 10 images of a minor location or videos just showcasing a house. Your best chances of us keeping a video is if it's a walkthrough, high quality, and to the point (no running around doing other quests, looting every container imaginable, etc.). Bear in mind if we already have walkthrough videos for a quest we may delete any new ones unless they prove to be better. Plagiarism Whether it is an online site or published source, do not directly copy another author's words. Instead, take any relevant information and properly paraphrase it to fit the tone of the wiki. Remember to reference any paraphrased information. Minimum standard for pages Characters If a character is from a game and has no interactive dialogue, or three or less lines of dialogue, that page will normally be nominated for deletion. If a character is a historical character, they will generally be considered notable enough to warrant their own page if more than one source documents their actions and these sources provide a reasonable amount of basic information. Families Families generally warrant their own article if three members pass the notability requirements for characters or if the family's involvement in the series cannot be adequately portrayed in individual character articles. Edit Warring An edit war occurs when editors who disagree about the content of a page repeatedly override each other's contributions, rather than trying to resolve the disagreement by discussion. Edit warring is nonconstructive and creates animosity between editors, making it harder to reach a consensus. Users who engage in edit wars risk being blocked. Not every revert or controversial edit is regarded as edit warring: *The Witcher Wiki encourages editors to be bold. A potentially controversial change may be made to find out whether it is opposed. Another editor may revert it. An edit war only arises if the situation develops into a series of back-and-forth reverts. * Reverting vandalism is not edit warring (vandalism can be anything from adding a biased point of view, removing information, adding irrelevant notes, etc.). If you see a lot of vandalism edits for one page, please let an admin know! We have tools to help us undo it all with one click whether as a normal editor would have to manually fix each one. * Reverting to enforce certain overriding policies is not considered edit warring. It is better to seek help in addressing the issue than to engage in edit warring over it. When disagreement becomes apparent, one, both, or all participants should cease warring and try to discuss the issue on the talk page, or approach appropriate venues for help. If, despite trying, one or more users will not cease edit warring, refuse to work collaboratively or heed the information given to them, or will not move on to appropriate dispute resolution, then a request for administrative involvement is the norm. A warning is not required, but if the user appears unaware that edit warring is prohibited, they can be told about this policy by posting a link to this policy on their user talk page. The bottom line: use common sense, and do not participate in edit wars. Rather than reverting repeatedly, discuss the matter with others; if a revert is necessary, another editor may conclude the same and do it (without you prompting them), which would then demonstrate consensus for the action. Unobtainable items and cut content Pages can be created for items that are within the game files as long as the item in question was not solely created for cutscene purposes or for an NPC. This is regardless if the player can obtain them through a mod. Generally, those items should be considered cut content. Red links Red links may occasionally occur on talk pages or forums. In cases where the pages have been deleted or moved, a fake external link should be created. For example, Talk:Achievements (Talk:Achievements or simply http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Achievements). The links should be edited without changing the meaning of the user's comment. Category:Policy